A Gift from God
by Forbiddensoul562
Summary: L must ask a personal favor of his successors.  "I simply want the two of you to raise this boy."  He explained. Eventual MxN.  Rated for Mello's mouth.  Plz r&r.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm not sure where this idea came from. Especially since I've been on a huge kick of trying to keep anything I write now more realistic. Maybe it was because when I was looking for a muse on the beta-reader section, a lot of profiles said they didn't accept mpreg stories. Maybe it's because I came from the Yu Yu Hakusho section, but I've always really liked a well-written mpreg. Anyway, I started looking around and… well… this idea popped into my mind. I'm not sure if anyone has ever done it before, and if so, then I apologize for 'copying'. It is in no way my intent.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters used in this story.

Title: A Gift from God

Chapter 1

It was midday and the sun shone through Roger's office windows leaving the room filled with a sunshine that was rarely seen this time of year in England. Everything was quiet and still; the only thing breaking the silence between the four beings in the office was the meticulous ticking of an old clock hanging on a far wall.

"L… I don't think this is a good idea." Roger stated, his old and tired eyes sliding open from behind his interlocked fingers. His eyes were doubtful as they watched the detective from the other side of his desk. "If you wish to bring him in here that's fine but-,"

L cut the elder man off, his deep eyes not meeting Rogers, and instead looking down at the bundle in his arms. There was a soft look hidden in that black abyss, only made apparent by the small smile on his face. "I disagree. If things go as I am planning, then it will all be just fine. They might be a bit chaotic at first, given the situation, but… when are things not, around here?" He asked, finally looking up at Roger with a knowing look crossing his feature.

Watari, who was sitting beside L looking between the two men from behind his glasses; gave a small smile; his moustache twitching and being pulled up with the movement. "He needs a home, Roger." He stated. "And if things _do_ turn too bad, then we take him and raise him in the same way we do any other child." He explained.

"He's young," He continued, "There's not that much harm that could be done that can't be easily reversed."

Roger watched his friend with hard eyes. Such a thing was easy for Wammy to say, as his heart had no end when it came to orphaned children. But Roger couldn't be like Wammy. He couldn't just take every potential candidate into Wammy's House. He had to think rationally about the situation. The more kids there were in the institution, the less space there was, the more that would need to be bought to accommodate each of them. He sighed, just thinking of how much work it _already _was and wondering why exactly he had taken this job with Wammy in the first place.

"My friend…" Watari started again, breaking the silence. The two pairs of eyes met, silently communicating things unable to be understood by anyone who hadn't been friends as long as the two of them had. "Please consider this me asking you for a personal favor. I believe Wammy's has room under its roof for one more little addition."

Roger sighed, without a word to his friend and instead turned back to L. "L, if this is what you feel is right… then that is what we shall do." He said, but quickly followed it, "are you sure this is the right course of action? It could potentially push them further away than anything. I understand your faith in them, but you do not live with them as I do and see the way they fight and play terrible mind games with each other."

He watched the elder detective with much doubt. Adjusting his glasses on his nose, he continued, "This could potentially drive them further away than they already were, setting us farther back from what we had _hoped_ would be the end goal."

L's expression hardly changed. There was an air of confidence about him that he always seemed to hold. He understood people –especially _them_- and because of that, he knew exactly what he was doing. "This will force them to cooperate with each other. Roger, they are not terrible kids. They have hearts. I do not believe that they would let something so precious be destroyed for the sake of their own advancement.

"In the end," He added, "Nobody is going to lose, here. I assure you of that. Everybody will, in one way or another, get what they want." His dark eyes moved up to Roger, "Trust me."

Roger was quiet, silently questioning whether L really understood what he was getting into by even suggesting such a radical idea. But… he also had to admit that he couldn't remember the last time L asked something of him and ended up being wrong with the inevitable outcome.

In the end, he realized, what basis did he have to stand on to say no? None, when it was L asking…

He sighed, "Alright… fine. I will have the proper accommodations started. However, L, you should be the one to… inform them." He made sure to include. That was one fit of rage that he was _not_ willing to deal with.

L nodded, standing up and making sure that he had the shifting bundle tight in his arms. "Gladly, Roger. I think that is appropriate. If anything, I know they would be highly disappointed if I did not at least tell them hello while I am here." He stated.

Roger exhaled heavily, watching L turn and leave the office with a final click of the door closing behind him, before then turning back to his lifelong friend, "Are you sure about this, Quillsh?" He asked, his expression one of wary as he moved back and rested in his high-back office chair.

Watari nodded, the small smile returning to his face, "Of course, Roger. We just have to trust that L knows what he's doing. And as I said before, if things turn bad… well… you know what to do." Silence then fell between them as they both wondered what exactly was going to happen in the future. This 'task' was too precarious to _not_ wonder and hold just a bit of fear in one's heart.

They both had to try and rest the worry, though, with the simple thought, _'L knows what he's doing.'_

Word that L was back at Wammy's spread through the orphanage quicker than wildfire. Everyone was eager to see him, and to talk to him, though many of the children were too nervous to approach him. It was an odd feeling, for many, to finally be able to put a face to the name so many of them were always told they were trying to succeed.

He was their celebrity. Their hero. Their future, if they worked hard enough. It was a surreal feeling for most and was also what kept many at a distance. Though for others, who were more willing to take the risk, followed him through the halls of the orphanage with a light of complete joy in their little eyes.

"L! L! Tell us about the cases you were on!" Some asked, as they trailed around him. "What countries did you get to go to?" "Did you bring us any presents?" They were all smiling, and all happy just to see him.

He couldn't help but smile at the children, trying to answer all their questions as he slowly made his way through the hallways. He chuckled, "You know I cannot speak of the cases I've been working on. I've been to many countries, but none are quite like England. Perhaps I have brought you all presents from my travels." There was something so fulfilling about being back.

This was his home. This was the only place he had ever known to be his home. All of the children around him, regardless of whether or not they were ever going to succeed him, were his family and he knew in his heart that he would die before he allowed anything to happen to any of them.

He looked down to the bundle in his arms, _'This will be your home now too.'_ He thought quietly amidst the thousands of other thoughts coming and going from his mind.

Passing an open area, he paused and looked in, finding one soul present there. His first successor, Near. Near was the true successor to him, L had always know this more based on his mannerisms rather than because of test scores. Tests meant nothing to justice, in the end. It was how well you could maneuver with criminals on the loose. How cunning and quick you could be to win before the other person. Justice was nothing more than a well-played game of chess, and luckily both he and Near played the game almost equally as well.

The thing that kept him from declaring Near his successor was the feeling he got in the back of his mind from him. There was something that was almost afraid of declaring it. Sure, Near was almost perfect for the position. But he lacked a certain something… a certain combination of social skills and initiative.

Near could manipulate as many people as he wanted to do whatever he wanted, and go out into the world and do anything he said. But if one is completely detached from the outside world, one does not fully understand humans. And understanding human nature was a critical part of bringing about justice.

He pushed all his analyzing down for a moment, "Near." He addressed to the pale boy sitting in the middle of the room looking down at his toy robots.

"Yes, L?" He responded casually without looking up.

"If you don't mind, would you follow me, please?" He requested, watching as the younger orphan stopped what he was doing. Abysmal eyes that mirrored his own moved over to finally watch him. His observant eyes moved from meeting L's eyes down to the bundle in his arms. There was a moment where L watched wonder flick past those dark orbs before it disappeared and he nodded, stood, and followed him out of the room.

L turned to the group of kids that had been following him, "I will be back to answer all of your questions," He assured them with a smile, "But for now, you must stay here and let me speak with my potential successors in privacy." There was a round of disappointed musings from the crowd, but they reluctantly stayed when L and Near continued on, now back towards the stairs.

"What's this about, L?" Near questioned once the other children were far enough away; his eyes still flicked back and forth from L to the bundle questioningly. It was impossible to read the expression on his face, however, to get an idea of what he was thinking.

"In due time, Near. You must have patience. I did say 'successors', which means we must find Mello before I can tell you what all of this is about." He explained, then stopped, looking around, "Speaking of Mello… where is he? I'm surprised he wasn't the first one to greet me when I walked through the front door. He always has been in the past…"

L felt Near's eyes watching him intently as he responded, "He's probably up in his room with Matt, L." He looked away almost instantly when L looked down at him in question, "I believe he's under the belief that, if you want his presence, then you will seek him out."

L was confused by the sudden change in Mello. He'd always been excited when L came back to Wammy's; always the one who asked the most questions and always the one who seemed the happiest. _'Perhaps he is under the belief that I've already chosen Near and thus has no more reason to be excited to see me…'_ L thought sadly, considering that was not the case at all.

Mello had almost as much potential as Near did. His flaws, though, were more exterior than Near's were, however. L didn't need to be around the blonde boy to know that much. He knew what Near was doing to achieve his stance as number one –the same thing he did to everyone else. By saying things to get under Mello's skin, it diverted his focus away from the main goal and thus he was more susceptible to making mistakes.

He exhaled as the two ascended the stairs, _'If he would simply ignore Near's jives, he would have such a higher chance at beating Near.'_ He chanced a glance over to Near, figuring the younger probably already knew this. _'Then again… if the two just stopped fighting with each other and aimed it towards all the injustice in the world… they would easily surpass me in their abilities.'_

L smiled at the thought as they reached the top of the stairs, _'This should help, prove that, though.'_

"If you could direct me to his room, Near." L requested, looking over once more.

He watched as Near robotically responded without an answer, or without any change in expression. _'Very cold…'_ L observed, wishing his hands were free so he could chew the pad of his thumb as he thought. _'I wonder how he is around Mello, though…'_ He'd read the reports, but reading reports was much different than seeing it in person.

Near stepped forward into the empty hallway and passed three closed bedroom doors before stopping at one. He knocked loud enough to make sure it would be heard then took a step back.

"Who is it?" Came the angry, muffled response from within.

"It's Near."

"What the fuck do you want? Go away!" L could almost hear the sigh that escaped Near at that, and could almost hear his thoughts, _"why are you so immature, Mello?"_ He couldn't help the small grin. Yes, watching the two of them with each other was definitely better than reading any report from Roger.

"L wants to speak with us, Mello." Near responded simply.

There was silence on the other side of the door for a long minute before it finally swung open revealing Mello –taller than L last remembered him to be, but with just the same fiery personality he'd always had. The blonde glared at Near before he realized L was there. Blue eyes widened for a brief second before he caught himself, "L! When did you get here?"

"Earlier today. I'm surprised you weren't the first one to greet me, Mello, like you usually are. Are you sick?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"N-no! I didn't know! Nobody told me you were coming today!" Again he turned a glare to Near, "Why didn't you tell me or something?"

Near, unfazed by the glare, simply responded, "That is not my job, Mello. That seems something more fit to be Matt's job. Also," he added, "to be fair, I was unaware he was coming to visit today as well."

Before Mello could shoot back a retort, L broke in, "To be quite honest, I did not tell Roger I was visiting today, and I will not be able to stay long before I must return to a case I'm working on. But a situation came up in which I must ask a favor of the both of, and the most proper way for me to ask this was in person." He explained, "Now, if you don't mind… could we go somewhere a bit more private than the hallway?"

Both boys nodded, but it was Near who spoke up first, "There's no one in my room if you wish to speak there." L nodded, and the youngest led the way further down the hall to his room.

"What's this about, L?" Mello wondered, as they entered Near's room and closed the door behind them. "You have a favor to ask of us?"

The detective nodded, stepping further into the room. The room was of an average size for a room at Wammy's, with the usual furniture –a bed, dresser, desk, and the like. The walls were white and plain, just as L suspected they would be in Near's room. But a moderate chest against the wall neatly held all of the pale boy's toys.

"Yes, I do." He stated, getting back on topic. He went over to Near's neatly made bed and gently laid down the bundle that'd been in his arms. "This, is the favor." He said, tugging back a light blanket that'd been covering the bundle, revealing a small baby.

Mello instantly shot backwards while Near's only reaction was an instant look of surprise and question in his eyes as they shot from the child up to L. "What the hell is that?" Mello nearly shouted in surprise.

"Well, it's obviously a baby, Mello." Near retorted, his look moving back to the child.

"This is a baby boy that I found, Mello." L explained, "he's only a few months old." He smiled, letting the baby take hold of his finger and put it in his mouth. The baby was small-looking in both stature and weight, but he had a head covered in black hair and bright hazel eyes that shone with happiness in a way that only a child's could. He seemed like a happy baby, always smiling at whatever L did.

"You found him, L?" Near questioned, to which, the detective nodded.

"Yes. While working on my case we went to a victim's house to look for clues and this little boy was wailing his head off. His family was killed, but apparently his mother had enough sense to put him in the closet before the murderer found her." His eyes darkened as he spoke. "She let herself be killed so her son would be spared."

There was a brief moment of silence in the room, "Of course we couldn't just leave the child, so we took him. But Watari couldn't find any papers on him or his mother or father in any of the local hospitals; so either she had him in another part of the country, or she had a home-birth, which is entirely likely. The boy's a bit undernourished, but other than that he's completely healthy."

Mello took a step forward, looking back and forth from the happy baby on the bed to L, "Why didn't you just give him to an orphanage in that country?" Mello wondered, with malice in his every syllable. He knew L; he knew the kind of things he pulled. He knew where this was going to inevitably go, and he didn't like it.

It took the elder detective a moment to answer the question. "I don't know." He said honestly in an exhale. "Perhaps… because I felt he did not deserve such a fate. Perhaps I felt that so many of you here have been spared such a fate simply by being found by either Watari or myself, so perhaps this boy should not be any exception to that rule. Maybe I simply sympathized with him…" His voice trailed off.

"What are we supposed to do with him, L?" Near asked. He too already had an idea of where L was going to go with this 'favor', but he needed to hear it from their predecessor before responding with anything.

"I simply want the two of you to raise this boy." He explained.

That was all Mello needed to hear before he snapped. "What? L we can't raise some kid! Are you out of your fucking mind! We're not capable of doing that! The kid will just grow up fucked up! Give him to the people that work here to do that, lord knows they've done a fine job with raising the rest of us!"

Near looked over, watching Mello explode. He contemplated telling him to be quiet before it bothered the child, but he also knew that when Mello snapped like this, it was sometimes in the best interest of his physical health to just let him get it out. However, he couldn't say he didn't disagree with Mello, either.

L looked back to Mello, letting him say whatever it was he wanted before he tried to explain himself. "Letting this boy be raised by the staff will do him little good. Raising him is both a favor, and a test from me, personally." He added, knowing that, at least in Mello, it would hit a sensitive nerve.

"The two of you, when your abilities are combined, make the perfect team." To that, the two younger successors looked at one another. How many times had they heard _that_ before? "However, you've clearly stated that you are unable to work together. I, however, do not believe this. I believe that, if you are put in a situation like this, where the life of another depends on you –just as it would in any crime case you may take on, and have to work together you will be able to do it.

"I believe that your hatred for one another is not enough that it would let an innocent soul be lost because of your petty competition." He paused, watching a terrible glare grow on Mello's face towards the younger boy.

"Also," L added, "It is my belief that if the two of you work together to raise this child and instill in it values and teachings from the both of you, when it is time for someone to succeed one of you after you are gone, this boy will be the perfect option –as he will, by that time, be the perfect combination of both of you. Even if you cannot work together in a team to succeed me, this boy will do it all in one body."

He paused to chew on his thumb a moment, observing the two boys. "Because of all this, I ask that you take this responsibility. If you shall fail in raising him the way I believe you will, then it will only prove what you have been saying for years, that you two _are not_ able to work together, and that I was mistaken."

"Either way nobody loses." Near finally concluded, twirling a lock of his white hair, and to which L nodded, giving a curt, "Exactly."

"Yeah but _we_ don't win either! Why do I want to be tied down to this responsibility for who knows how many goddamn years?" Mello retorted.

"I guess what it comes down to, in the end, Mello," L responded, "is the question of whether your desire to bring justice to the world enough to do this. The world would be in a great debt to you if you were to bestow upon them this great future detective."

Mello growled, his eyes narrowing at him. This was something he hated about L. No, this was something he hated about _Near_ that the two just _happened_ to share. The ability to back him into a corner, like he was now. L had him backed into a corner with this.

If he told L no, that he wouldn't do it, then he would be showing that he didn't care about justice enough –which would not look good in L's eyes and thus would inevitably put him farther from beating Near for the number one spot.

But if he agreed… he'd be stuck with Near and this child for _years_! That was not something he'd ever had in mind, and still didn't. It was not something he could see himself being able to do, either.

There was a lot at stake, here. But really, what other choice did he have?

Finally, he sighed, "Fine, whatever…" He said almost under his breath and looking away from L, defeated. In the end, how could he tell L no and still look the same in his eyes?

"Sounds good," Near agreed with a small nod as his fingers continued spinning the small tress of hair.

Mello glared at him once more, if only to give him an outlet for his frustration, "Shut up."

L smiled once. "Wonderful. I knew that you would see things my way. Now then, now that that's settled, I must be on my way. There's still cases out there that need my help to solve them. However, I will inform the staff about this new task. Roger already knows of this plan and will be providing everything you two should need. If not, ask him and I'm sure he will acquire it for you." With that, he stood up and walked past them to the exit.

"Wait, L! What are we supposed to-," Mello called after the detective, but his voice went unheard and before anything more could be said, L was out the door and once again it was closed –leaving Mello and Near alone in the room with this new baby boy.

Both pairs of eyes looked at each other for a moment before moving over to the baby on the bed, who was cooing to himself in the pile of blankets.

Mello huffed, "Let's get one thing straight, Near." He started, "No matter what happens… I am _not_ going to be called 'Mom'."

"Really?" Near retorted instantly, his eyes observing the child, though albeit not quite sure what to do now, "Because I'm quite positive that, between the two of us, you look the most fitting for the part."

Despite their bickering, they both shared the same overwhelming thought, _'What are we supposed to do now?'_

* * *

><p>AN: Ah! I am actually quite proud of myself for this one! I have a few ideas for what I want to do, but for now I'm mostly winging it. If things go the way I think they will, then this is going to be quite an interesting ride. Also, I must comment… is it just me, or is my Mello and Near interpretations a bit rusty around the edges? Oh that's not good… Oh well, guess this will be the perfect practice.

Anyway, let me know what you think, please!

Please review  
><em>-Forbiddensoul562<em>


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Ah, well, here is the second chapter to this story! First, let me thank all of you who reviewed and/or favorited/alerted this story! It means a lot to me that you did, as my confidence in writing has been really low lately, and I was really worried this wasn't going to do well. So thank you all. Also, a huge thanks to my wonderful beta-muse, Lumorai, for reading over this and making sure everything was correct! (oh, and making sure Near wasn't a cannibal!) Anyway, please enjoy chapter two and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters used in this story.

Chapter 2

Everything was quiet between the two successors for a long minute, both wondering what exactly they were expected to do now? Neither of them knew how to take care of a child, let alone work together with one another in order to do it. Both wished, in that moment, that L had at least given them a bit of warning about something like this.

_'At least if I'd had some warning about this stupid plan I could have found a way to get out of this!'_ Mello huffed and crossed his arms, _'That's probably why he didn't…'_ But that wasn't what happened, and now the two were alone with this huge responsibility. Neither dared to think about how long they would have to go along with L's little plan before they were released from this burden.

Near was finally the one to break the tense silence, sighing and taking a cautious step closer to his own bed. Ignoring the problem ahead of them was not going to benefit anybody here. There was a part of him that just wished he understood this situation a bit more so he didn't feel so much like he was entering into something so blind.

"Well… what should we do now?" Mello questioned him.

Near simply shrugged, watching as the baby flailed happily on his bed, waving his arms around and smiling brightly. "How should I know?" He asked without looking at the blonde. The younger couldn't help but carefully take a seat beside the child and reaching out to gently trace the jaw line of the small boy. "He's soft…" He commented without realizing.

"Of course he is. He's a baby, Near," Mello sneered. Pouting a bit but stepping closer as well, he moved over to sit on the opposite side of the baby boy.

"Have you never touched a baby before?" He wondered, looking at him quizzically.

Near shook his head, "When would I have ever had the chance to? I've been here so long, and the greater majority of orphans brought into Wammy's are at least four years old." He explained. "I have never handled a baby before." He admitted, watching as the boy took one of Near's fingers and popped it in his mouth.

Near had the instantly reaction to snatch his hand back, wanting to escape the warm, moist cavern his finger had been forced into. But when those big bright hazel eyes moved up to look at him, there was just something that tugged at his heart and told him to let the child have his way.

Mello huffed once more, "Great, so now I have to deal with teaching _you_ too? Of all the things to not know about, Near… You're a fucking genius yet you can't even handle a child."

"Mello, pointing out my own faults is not going to help us with this child, right now." He pointed out, hoping to distract Mello from the topic. He hated the idea of giving Mello leverage over himself. It was something so miniscule, and quite obvious, really, but even the smallest thing, he knew, gave Mello reason to use it against him.

Suddenly, something clicked in his mind, "Did L happen to tell us what this boy's name was?"

Mello's azure eyes looked from the child between them back to Near. "I didn't hear it." His look changed to confusion, "Do you think he has one?"

"If L did not inform us, then I believe it is only safe to assume that he doesn't." Near replied, their eyes locking with a mutual wonder shared between them. "I suppose, then, that the first thing we should do is name him." He explained, breaking their locked eyes to look down once more. The boy between them looked back and forth between Mello and Near, still sucking on Near's finger, unaware of the tension between his new fathers.

"So, what should his name be?" Mello wondered, which led him to another thought, "Should we give him an alias? I mean… if he is destined to succeed L someday then that's important."

Near shook his head, "Unless you are going to take the time, when he is older, to explain why he has two names and why he is not allowed to tell one of them, and expect him to completely understand, then I do not believe we should complicate him with it. When he is older, and capable of fully grasping the magnitude of what he is supposed to do, then we will give him an alias and explain it all. Until then… I believe it only be fitting for him to be raised with one real name." His dark eyes flicked back to Mello, momentarily, "Even we lived with our real names for a number of years before having to give them up."

Mello nodded, "Yeah, I guess…" He looked down at the boy, letting his fingers gently pet the tuft of black hair atop the boy's head. "Well then, what should his name be?" He grinned, "We could name him after me!"

Near's grey orbs again flicked back to Mello, giving him a ominous look, "And what name shall that be, _Mello_?" He asked, emphasizing the alias.

Blue eyes hardened as they met grey. "I was kidding." He covered, then looking away, down at the boy once more.

A heavy silence once again fell over the room, with the exception of the child between them, who mumbled to himself in his own language, who finally released Near's hand from his mouth and replacing it with his own little hand.

Near looked over to watch Mello's expression contort into one of wonder and question –the wheels in his mind obviously beginning to turn to try and put out any name to give to their newly acquired child. He watched as the blonde's finger's absentmindedly reached to his rosary, spinning the cross at the end of it as he often did when in thought.

"Isaiah." Mello finally offered quietly, with a small smile.

"Isaiah?" Near asked, partially to test out the way the name sounded.

Mello nodded, smiling. "Yeah, Isaiah." He then looked to Near, shooting him a glare, "What's wrong with that name, huh?"

Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the boy and picked him up, holding him at eye level, yet very careful with him as well, "What do you say, hm? Are you an Isaiah?" The black-haired boy gave a small giggle, kicking his legs.

Near couldn't help the small smile. There was something very natural about seeing Mello with a child. Perhaps it was because he was already so good with people, as opposed to himself, that it was just… a quality that came with that feature. In any case, in the back of his mind, he couldn't help the thought that suddenly this 'favor' of L's didn't seem quite so impossible anymore.

Sure, Near still had no clue what he was doing, or what _to_ do with a child as small as he was. But Mello seemed to be fine, and even had a sort of air of confidence about his actions. As long as the two of them could keep from killing each other, there was no reason why L's plan didn't make sense.

He finally nodded, "Isaiah." He agreed, in his own silent way agreeing to both the name, as well as to taking up the challenge put before them.

"We should probably take him to the infirmary." Mello stated, breaking Near out of his thoughts. "You know, where they _usually_ take care of kids his age. Hell, maybe they haven't heard about this arrangement yet and will be willing to take him off our hands!"

To this, Near glared at him. "And what do you believe L would do if he learned that we had given up on this favor that he asked of us? Though, considering this is L we're dealing with, I believe it would be more correct to call this a _challenge_ from him, if anything." He said, picking his every word carefully, knowing all the right one to push each button in Mello.

Just as anticipated, Mello froze; his look shifting to Near. "A challenge?" Their eyes met, and for a long moment somehow the idea of L challenging them to this was transferred through the silence. Finally, the blonde growled, "Fine, we won't dump the kid… It's not like Roger would ever let tus get away with it for too long anyway."

He exhaled, then stepping closer to Near and holding Isaiah out to Near, "Here, you carry him downstairs. There's no way I'm being seen with him." Before Near could protest, the small child was forced into his hands.

Near tensed instantly, "Mello, I do not know how to hold a child!" He re-affirmed, glaring at the blonde.

To this, Mello rolled his eyes, taking Near's arms and positioning him correctly. "To hold him, you need to support him underneath," He explained calmly, placing one of Near's hands under Isaiah on his rear. "Then you need to hold him against you, to make sure he doesn't wiggle and accidentally fall." Taking Near's other hand, he placed it high on the boy's back –supporting both the boy's back and the back of his head. "It's pretty much the same if you want to just hold him in your arms instead of against you, like now." He explained, stepping back.

Near looked down at Isaiah, who was looking up at him from against Near's chest with big hazel eyes so full of wonder. He tightened his hold on the boy instinctively, a part of him afraid of dropping something so precious. He looked back up at Mello, "How do you know all of these things?" He wondered.

Mello backtracked a moment, his eyes showing shock at being called out. "I…" Instantly, though, he caught himself and walled it all up again. "That's none of your business, Near. Just be thankful_ I_ do. Otherwise you'd be fucked." He huffed starting to the door, "Let's go."

Near nodded, following him out into the hall. There was something in him, once they were out in the open and no longer in the confines of his room that made him clam up and feel as though everyone was watching him. Well, he had to admit, of course they were… Who, in their wildest dreams, would've ever imagined them in this sort of position?

It was odd. It was off. Perhaps even wrong. But Near had to remain objective in order to not let anything anyone could be saying or thinking get to him. He looked down to the child in his arms once more, making sure again that he was secure. _'You are my primary objective, now.'_ He thought. _'They don't understand how important it is that you are raised correctly and are able to succeed either Mello or myself.'_

That was what he needed to keep him going –he needed to remind himself that, while it might seem out of place for them to be doing this, it was all in the name of keeping justice alive well after they were gone. That was the most important thing, in the end.

"Hey," Mello cut through Near's thoughts. His dark eyes looked over at him. "Don't pay any attention. If anyone says anything, I'll kill them. Got it?"

Near nodded without a word. _'We're thinking the same thing, again.'_ Near told himself with a small smirk, but turned to keep his look dead ahead of him, and ignore everyone that they passed that gave them confused or weird looks. He could feel it, and he could also feel how tense Mello was beside him. _'He's letting it get to him, despite his warning to me…'_ He sighed, _'He's going to have to learn how to ignore what people think and say about him.'_

Before he could even think to say anything to Mello about the way he was acting, they reached the infirmary. The inside was an open room with beds separated by cloth screens. A couple were occupied with sick orphans trying to get some rest, but other than that things were pretty empty.

At the sound of the door opening and closing, one of the nurses that worked there entered from a side room, "Oh, hello!" She said with a bright smile, "I was wondering if you two might come and see us." She said matter-of-factly. "We were informed by Roger of your job and were told to assist in any way we can."

Mello grinned, "You willing to take him off our hands, then?"

"Mello." Near chided.

"I was kidding! God, Near, why do you always have to be such a hard-ass!" He huffed and turned a glare to the nurse, "We figured it'd be best to bring him here to get checked out. And maybe get whatever we're going to need for this." He explained, crossing his arms over his chest.

The nurse gave them a confused look, "Didn't they already set up a room for him upstairs? It's supposed to be between both of yours. Perhaps Roger didn't get a chance to tell you yet… but everything you'll need will be in there. And if there's something you need you just need to ask one of us, or Roger, and you'll get it." She stated.

"Now," She continued, "You wanna check up for this little guy, huh?" She carefully plucked Isaiah from Near's arms before he could register that she was doing it. There was a part of him that instantly felt like she'd just stolen something very valuable to him. He watched her take him for a moment before looking away and reaching up to twirl a lock of hair.

"First we'll need to take his height and weight. That'll give us a better estimate of how old he is. Even if he is a bit malnourished right now because of the situation he came out of." Her green eyes looked down at Isaiah with so much sympathy, "Come in here and we'll get started." She told the two, heading over to the side room she'd just come out of.

Inside, she placed Isaiah down on a small weighing table. "Hm, he's about 6.4 kilograms." She sighed, "Yeah, a little underweight for his age. But with some good food to eat, he'll be fine." She smiled, leaving him on the table for a moment to go to a side drawer and pull out a measuring tape, holding it from the top of his head down to his feet. "About 64.77 centimeters. So he's relatively normal height." Then she wrapped the measure carefully around his head, "43.2 centimeters around, good." (1)

"Judging by these measurements, I would say you have a four month old on your hands, now." She smiled as she put the measuring tape away, but it started to drop as she reached into another drawer and took out a few papers, "Now, here is the issue with this baby-,"

"His name is Isaiah." Mello informed her firmly.

She looked over a moment, then nodded, "Here's the issue with _Isaiah_," She stressed, "There are no records for this child at all. Nothing. So we have no way of knowing whether or not he has received any of his vaccinations. Usually they give them a lot at birth, but we don't even know if he was born in a hospital or if it was a home birth."

"So what do you have to do?" Mello asked, warily.

"I believe it would be safe to give them to him again, at least the ones needed for the standard four month old child. Just to make sure that he's completely covered and won't develop anything. It's better to be safer with these things than sorry, later."

Both successors nodded simultaneously, agreeing that it would be better for Isaiah in the long run.

"If one of you could hold him, that might make him more comfortable with this." She said, with hesitance in her voice, knowing too well what was to come of this. "You seem to have a very relaxed, quiet baby on your hands, but even so… no child likes getting shots, no matter the age." She explained, shuffling through cabinets in order to ready syringes with the right content and dosage.

Mello and Near looked at each other for a brief moment before it was Mello who stepped forward and picked the child up from the table, holding him against him in the way he had instructed Near to do earlier. Both of them anticipated what was going to happen, and neither really wanted to deal with it, but there was little else they could do. To leave now and deny Isaiah his vaccinations because of how he reacted to the shots would just be selfish, and they both knew it.

She stepped over to Mello, placing two needles down on the weight table and holding one in her hand. "Are you ready?" She asked, chancing one look to Mello, one to Near, and then one down to little Isaiah. Without waiting for a response, she took the child's leg carefully in her hand, wiped it clean with an anti-bacterial wipe, and before he could move, stuck him.

Mello's grip on Isaiah tightened as he instantly began crying loudly and flailing to try and to get away from the nurse, who held his arm still as she pushed in the first round of vaccines. There was just the slightest look of pain on the blonde's expression, Near observed, and he couldn't exactly blame him. There was, however, a part of him that wondered what it was directed at –whether it was just physically from Isaiah's screams, or whether he could just not stand to listen to such a thing and not be able to do anything.

Knowing Mello, Near assumed the first one.

Mello finally acted after she took the needle. The cries from Isaiah never ceased, but even so, he stepped closer to the younger genius and held Isaiah out. "I can't do this," he stated firmly, without allowing any room for questions. The moment Near took the child, Mello escaped from the room, Near's glaring dark eyes following after him. _'Coward,'_ he breathed to himself.

He held the screaming child carefully, closing his eyes in a desperate attempt to block everything out. He couldn't hold his composure like this. There were too many things racing around in his head that he didn't know how to deal with. Wonder of what was wrong with Mello to drive him to running. Wonder of what to do to soothe Isaiah. Wonder of whether or not he himself could even do any of this.

No, that wasn't an option, he determined. He didn't have a choice. He had to stay and do _something_!

"Talk to him, try to keep him calm." The nurse advised as she quickly grabbed the second needle, trying to hasten the process to end the pain of the small child as quickly as she could. "You're his parent, now. A parent's voice becomes very soothing to children; especially one as young as him."

Near's eyes opened on her momentarily, taking in what she said. But even if he was supposed to just _talk_ to Isaiah, he couldn't help but wonder about what exactly that was supposed to do. There was a part of him that ran that though his logistics side, which said that made no sense at all, and which told him not to do it. But at the same time, he had to admit, what other option did he have?

"Shh…" He heard himself begin trying to hush him before he had even consciously decided that that was the route he was going to take. "You're alright. You're okay." He felt embarrassed, but closed his eyes again so he didn't have to face anyone on the outside. He didn't want to have to think about how the nurse must think he was hopeless for even attempting to connect with a simple child.

But she said nothing, just continued at her job and stuck the boy's leg once more with the needle, resulting in Isaiah's crying growing more intense, if such a thing were possible.

Near cringed, feeling his composure slipping, breaking before him. He was so lost, and the other half of his so-called _team_ was not here to help him figure out what he was supposed to do! His _partner_ had ran and left him alone! There was a flare of hate that began burning in his middle, directed only at the blonde for his cowardly actions.

He continued trying to calm Isaiah as best he could through the third and last shot, before it was finally all over. He continued to cry as she stuck a little blue band-aid over the prick marks on his leg, but at least it was over. At least now Near could tell the boy, and himself, that it was over.

Near sat in one of the chairs in the small room, attaining his ability his usual sitting position to the best of his ability with Isaiah in his arms, continuing to try and sooth him till his screams had dulled to simple light crying and whimpers. He'd be lying if he said there wasn't a part of him that was proud of himself.

The nurse watched him carefully, taking a seat on a nearby rolling chair. "I'm sorry L's putting you through this." She finally said.

Near's eyes slipped open, finally, watching her carefully. He didn't say anything, though, waiting for her to continue and let on exactly what she was trying to say.

"Taking care of a child is a huge responsibility. Not one that should be put onto other children." She explained, the tone in her voice showing her disapproval for L's decision. Near instantly went on the defensive. "The two of you can't even work as a team long enough for a simple task, let alone to raise a child. How can he think that this is a good idea?"

"Nobody questions L." Near informed her, ignoring the tug at the back of his mind that reminded him of all the times he had wondered about L's motives. "He knows what he's doing. He hasn't asked things before and ever been wrong about their outcome."

She gave him a hard look in response. "A child is not like a case, Near," she stated. "You can have aspirations for children, but you can't try to just make them into whatever you want. And you should certainly not have them be raised by unqualified people. The children brought into Wammy's are always naturally gifted, and a baby Isaiah's age cannot show signs of this! Roger is right to wonder about whether he is throwing resources away by taking him in."

Near looked down at Isaiah, who had finally quieted to simple sniffles, as if he knew that he was being talked about, "On the other hand," Near countered, "we cannot be certain that he'd ever meet his full potential if assigned to another orphanage."

There was a pause where both went into thought, finally, she sighed, bringing Near's attention back to her. "If Mello continues acting the way he is, this child is going to be doomed in the future. He'll have no chance of meeting the expectations of L."

This made Near stop suddenly, amazed by the gall of the woman to say something like that to him. "And what makes you say _that_?" He asked, barely containing his animosity.

She looked at him as if he should know better than to ask something like that, "Near…" She said, the condescending tone that pissed him off. "You and I both know how bad you are when it comes to dealing with people in the first place. A child is a lot more than that. I know how hard it will be for someone like you to deal with something of this magnitude. There's a lot of pressure on Mello because of it, I'm sure."

Near tried not to let any of his anger towards her show as he suddenly stood up, "I appreciate your assistance today, when should we return?" He asked, cutting straight to the point to keep her from degrading him anymore.

She stood as well, "Next month. Just to keep tabs on how he's growing." She stated.

Near nodded, and, without waiting for her to say anything else, exited from the room with Isaiah, then out of the Infirmary and back into the halls of Wammy's. He paused a moment in the empty hallway, leaning against the wall and calming himself down once more.

_'First Mello leaves me in that situation and then some woman tells me I am not fit to care for a child. Or anyone, for that matter.'_ He bit his lip, holding Isaiah tighter. This was the reason he kept away from people, whenever possible. He lost sight of his objective when people found ways under his skin. But he couldn't let people do that this time. He would prove her wrong.

He started out of the hallway, and up the stairs towards the bedrooms, where he knew Mello would probably be –as he always was. He was moving, but his mind was far gone, thinking over all of the things he needed to do in order to prove her wrong. She as a person was nobody, to him. She meant nothing, but it was the fact of what she said that did.

Near was not stupid, he knew there were definitely others who thought the same thing. And while usually it didn't matter what they said, for some reason this now did. This was something completely different. Somebody was telling him he couldn't do something.

But he knew he could. He could do anything. He could do _everything_! He had to… He was not going to lose the puzzle to someone who meant nothing just because of his social inabilities.

Once he reached Mello's door, he didn't bother to knock before walking in, finding both the blonde, and his best friend laying on their individual beds. Mello's blue eyes shot over to him. "Knock first, bastard!"

Near knew his anger was simply to cover up having to make excuses for his actions earlier, but none of that mattered to him now. The objective was the only thing in his mind. The end result was what mattered. He had to remember what it would mean for the world if they were able to complete this for L.

"You need to take Isaiah." He told him firmly, leaving no room for any excuses from Mello.

The blonde caught on instantly to Near's angered tone, despite the obvious effort it took for Near to try hold it all back. There were cracks in his composure, and everything behind it was beginning to seep through already. Something happened, he knew, but Mello wasn't willing to ask now and risk getting involved in whatever Near might do. "Alright." He said simply, getting up and taking the child from Near. "Where are you-,"

"I need to study." Was all Near said before leaving the way he had came.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, that took me forever. Seriously, I didn't think ideas for this story were going to be so difficult. Thank god for my god-send of a beta, though to help me out. Anyway, now that you know Isaiah's name let me explain the origin. I was originally looking for something that meant 'a gift from God', to follow the title of the story. However, everything I found was either way too foreign, or Nathan or Matthew -which were instant no-gos. So I started looking for derrivatives of that meaning, and Isaiah was one of the ones that came up that just struck me instantly. His name means, 'Salvation of God', which may play some part later. So, there you go. Also, if anyone has any ideas they'd like to see in this, feel free to let me know. I take all the inspiration I can get! Let me know what you thought

(1): These measurements, by American standards, equate out to about: 25.5in long, 14lbs with a 17in head circumfrence.

Please review  
>-<em>Forbiddensoul562<em>


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, I must ask, what was wrong with the last chapter? Was it just too long? Or not interesting enough? Or what? I was just kinda surprised when the review count per-chapter went from 11 on the first chapter to 3 for the second. I don't know, just kind of damaged my confidence a bit. But… even so, here is the next chapter, and hopefully everyone will like it! Please let me know what you think! Again, a huge thanks to my beta-muse, Lumorai for putting up with all my bitching, bullshit, and dragging me, kicking and screaming, along from point A to point B.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters in this story. I do, however, own Isaiah.

Chapter 3

Green eyes darted over to hazel, analyzing and contemplating all at once. Large hazel orbs stared back into green with wonder and intrigue. Finally unable to hold back anymore, tiny hands reached out, lightly smacking orange-lens goggles positioned around the green-eyed boy's head.

Matt chuckled from where he had been standing over Isaiah, who lay on Mello's bed. He backed up, his arms crossing as he looked over at his friend, "So what you're telling me is L just dumped this kid on you?" He asked, watching Mello gaze out the window with a far-away stare.

"Yeah, basically… apparently it'll help make Near and I a better team, as well as provide the perfect successor after our generation." Mello explained without looking to his friend. Part of him wondered what exactly he was supposed to do now, while another tied him back to the vaccinations, and how he had handled it.

He shuddered at the memory. He couldn't deal with listening to Isaiah cry like that. It pulled at him too hard, and too close to home for him to be able to deal with that.

"Well what are you going to do?" He asked, ignoring the baby in front of him that cooed at him, flailing his arms and legs in a need for attention.

Mello finally looked at him and glared, "What do you mean what am I going to do? It's not like I could say no to _L_, Matt."

"Yeah but can you really deal with Near for that long without killing him? Or are you two just going to pass him off? You know, like parents do when they get divorced." He grinned, "are you and Near divorced, Mels? Is that why you can't stand him?"

The blonde's glare intensified at even the _thought_ of being with Near for longer than he had to. "No!" He nearly shouted, "Would you quit being stupid? No wonder you're only third best." He jibbed, turning his look back out the window.

Matt was hardly fazed by Mello's insult. Being third best didn't matter to him. He wasn't interested in L's title nearly as much as Near, and didn't care about competition to nearly the level Mello did. It just wasn't worth the effort, in the end. Instead, his gaze turned back to Isaiah, feeling a bit of pity for the small child and the life he was being brought up in. Isaiah would never know his real parents, and who knew what kind of life he'd have growing up with parents as opposite as Mello and Near were. At least Matt remembered his parents… it was a luxury the boy before him would never have.

"What's his story?" He asked, changing the subject in order to keep from testing Mello's temper any more than he already had.

Mello's blue eyes flicked over to Isaiah, watching as Matt stepped forward and picked the boy up, unconsciously feeling a protective side of him come out that needed to make sure Matt was holding him correctly. When he determined that it was safe, he sighed and spoke. "His parents were murdered; from what I understand it was only a few days ago. His parents must've known it was coming. His mother put him in a closet to hide him. The murderer must not have known he existed, because they were killed and nobody found him until the L and the investigators got there. Nobody could find any papers on him."

Matt held Isaiah close to him, smiling lightly as the boy drooled just a bit on his shirt, but stared around the room in an innocent curiosity. He looked over to his friend, "At least he doesn't have to go through that sadness…" He remarked quietly. The topic of anyone's parents was practically taboo in the orphanage, and when one did speak of them or anything pertaining it, it was always something to keep hushed.

"I honestly don't know what's worse, though, being old enough to know them and remember them but being sad when they die or leave us, or being too young to know anything, but not having to go through that sadness." Mello commented, then his crystal blue orbs looked up to his friend, "And what are we supposed to tell him when he _does_ get old enough to question about them?"

Matt shrugged, his eyes remaining soft and unaffected. There were brief flashes of what he considered to be his 'old' life that went past his line of vision when Mello brought it up –images of his mother, his father, and his brother before they had abandoned him. They were memories, to him. He had dealt with his sadness years previous, and now simply held on to those flashes as many might with pictures. Mementos to look back on and smile.

"I suppose you tell him the truth," Matt commented. "But make sure that he understands that you and Near are his parents now. Make sure he knows that you raised him and brought him up to be whoever he turns out to be."

"And what if that person isn't a very _good_ person?" The redhead should've known something of that sort would come out of his friend. That insecurity Mello hid with layers and layers of anger and faux confidence.

"With someone like Near helping raise this kid, he's sure to turn out a good boy." He lightly patted Isaiah's well-diapered behind. "Near's manipulative and all, but he's only like that because he _needs_ to be, and you know that. I don't think he'd put that kind of quality on Isaiah. He'd instill good values in him."

"Are you implying that I _need_ Near in order to raise Isaiah the right way?" Mello glared.

"No, not at all!" Matt instantly defended. "I'm just saying that if something _does_ start to happen as a result of _either_ of your raising, I'm sure he'd be right there to correct anything. As much as you hate to admit it, Mels, you two are two extremes of the spectrum, but when put together you even out pretty well. You'll be there to correct anything _he_ does, and he'll be there to correct anything _you_ do."

Mello was quiet, watching Matt for another moment before looking back out the window. "I don't know about that, Matt. Did you see the way he acted when he barged in here earlier? L might've made a mistake, with this. I don't think someone as fucking emotionless and distant as him can deal with a child."

"Yeah, what was up with him? Did you do something, or what? He looked pretty pissed off…"

The blonde simply shrugged, not yet ready to admit his wrong-doings even to his best friend. "I think he's cracking." He stated simply and safely.

"Well, it is a new experience for him. Maybe he just needs a bit of cracking on that exterior, robotic shell of his before he can mend it up with knowledge of how he _has _to deal with this situation!"

"Maybe…" Mello replied absentmindedly.

Things became quiet between the three of them for a long few moments in which the blonde couldn't help but think that _this_ felt more right than it ever did when he was around Near. With Near it was constantly a battle for dominance between the two, whereas with Matt, Matt was good about letting go, or doing whatever it was that Mello needed him to.

He looked over to his friend once more, _'Why couldn't L pair me up with Matt instead? I'm sure Isaiah would've been raised just as well between us as L thinks he will between Near and I…'_ He sighed, trying not to think about it.

There was another moment of silence in the room before it was broken by Isaiah, who suddenly began to whimper. Matt stopped where he had been pacing back and forth in the middle of the room and looked down to the small boy, "What's wrong, Isaiah?" He cooed gently.

The said child whimpered a couple more times before his eyes grew watery and suddenly he began to cry.

Mello's stare moved instantly over to Matt the moment he heard the whimpers out of Isaiah. He watched the scene unfold, and watched Matt desperately try to calm the boy down once more, but to no avail.

The gamer looked over to Mello for help, "what do you think is wrong, Mello?" He asked.

For a brief moment Mello thanked everything that had happened in his past, but at the same time wondered why it was that every time something happened to this kid everybody instantly looked to him for answers. What did he look like, the kid's mother? No, he'd established that fallacy earlier.

Even so, he sighed and stood up, "He's a baby, Matt, it could be anything. Babies have routines, but we haven't figured out his yet." He went over and plucked Isaiah out of his friend's arms and heading for the door; Matt following behind like a loyal puppy. "He could need to be changed, or fed, or just want attention." Blue eyes darted back to Matt, "though I doubt that one, considering you were already holding him."

Matt cocked his head to the side as they entered into the room between Mello's and Near's, the one that was set up for Isaiah. Everything was the same as any other bedroom in Wammy's except there was a changing table, a crib, a rocking chair, and the other necessities for raising a child. "How do you know all this stuff, Mels?" He asked.

Mello glared back, "Just be glad I do, you twit."

He went to the changing table and laid the crying child down on his back on it, then sighed. _'Why couldn't L have given us a two or three year old to raise?'_ He wondered, _'And of course my so called partner isn't around either. Useless bastard…'_

He looked over to Matt, "Go downstairs to the kitchen. If Roger's made sure this room's stocked I'm sure he's made sure the kitchen is as well. Go through the cupboards and find a bottle and formula. There'll be instructions on the back."

Matt nodded, pulling down his goggles over his eyes, "You got it, boss!" He saluted once before turning to leave.

"And make sure it's warm, too!" Mello called after him before turning back to the case at hand.

He sighed, "You better not give me any trouble, you hear me, Isaiah?" He told him. "Or, Near be damned, I _will _leave you down in the infirmary with that nurse." Isaiah didn't seem to care, but continued crying.

Without another word he set to work, partially glad that no one was around to watch him and judge him; things were just easier this way. He unbuttoned the bottom of Isaiah's blue onesie and pushed it up out of the way before undoing the side straps of the diaper held around his bottom half.

'_Well, there's one source of your displeasure.'_ He mused to himself, throwing away the soiled diaper before grabbing a new one from a pack at the back of the table, making quick work of cleaning him and re-placing a diaper on him, buttoning up the onesie as he finished with a small smile.

He picked Isaiah up off the table and held him out in front of him to better look the child over, and was proud of his work, _'I've still got it.'_ He thought to himself. However, he didn't have much room to celebrate as the boy was still crying, though it had quieted to soft cries and whimpers; his glassy hazel eyes looking sadly to Mello.

Mello frowned at him, "Don't give me that look, I just sent Matt to get you some food!" There was another whimper from Isaiah. "I can't make him hurry up, you know!" He told him. Finally he sighed, bringing Isaiah closer and holding him against his chest, patting his back lightly, "Relax, you. You're going to eat, no doubt about that." He tried to soothe him, finding himself pacing back and forth in quite the same way that Matt had been doing before.

Just a couple of minute later Matt returned back into the room holding a full bottle of formula, "I got it, Mels!" He said proudly.

Without a response, Mello took it and readjusted Isaiah in his arms so he was cradled instead of lying against him; he carefully brought the nipple of the bottle to the baby's mouth. "He didn't eat for a couple days before people found him." He commented as Isaiah recognized what was being put in front of him and instantly latched on, sucking away –the last of his cries instantly subsiding. "He's a bit underweight from it, but he'll be alright. He's got to be starving, though, even if L and Watari did feed him before."

Matt watched his friend with interest. "At least Isaiah's pretty quiet, for the most part."

Mello shrugged, "But is that really a good thing? If he wants something and doesn't really cry until it's really bad, that could end very bad if it's something serious, Matt." He retorted, watching the child in his arms suck away at the bottle. "Come on, let's go back." He headed for the door, preferring to be in his room over this one. Somehow, Isaiah's room made it too real and too final for him.

Matt followed, looking down the hall towards the stairs as they entered out, "I wonder where Near is… must not be in his room, or you'd think he would have heard." He commented off-handedly.

Mello shrugged, "whatever. If he wants to hide and not deal with Isaiah then fine. You and I make a perfect team, Matt, we can raise Isaiah on our own!"

Matt's green eyes went wide, "W-what? When did I get dragged into this? Hey don't force me into this too!" He tried to back out, leaving the blonde to just chuckle in response.

* * *

><p>"You think Near would've been back by now…" Mello commented as he lay the sleeping Isaiah down in his crib, careful not to disturb him and wake him up. Hours had passed since he and Matt had taken on taking care of Isaiah's needs for the first time and after eating, the baby had quietly fallen asleep in Mello's arms.<p>

It was night out, now, and everything had settled down in Wammy's for the night, though he wasn't quite sure what time it was exactly.

"Useless bastard… can't rely on him for anything." He commented quietly, unable to stop himself from gently brushing a finger over the mess of black hair on Isaiah's head.

Matt, who watched from the side with a smile replied quietly, "consider who you're dealing with, Mello. Do you think he really knows what he's doing in a situation like this? He's probably trying to get away from it and ignore it as long as he can." He shrugged.

Mello shook his head, finally standing and heading for the door out of the room, "No, that's not Near's style. He wouldn't ever ignore a situation as serious as this."

"Then where do you suppose he is?" Matt wondered, stopping outside the door and throwing a look to Near's closed bedroom door.

Mello stopped outside their shared room, looking back at Matt through the darkness of the hall. He shrugged, "Who knows. I don't really care. I already told you, you and I can deal with this way better than he or I ever could. No one has to know it's us doing it." He smirked.

Matt looked back at his friend, "Mello, you can't do that. That defeats the whole purpose. What good would a child raised by number two and number three do? It still wouldn't be able to compete with number one! Now if it's the child of number one and two, then he's got both spots secured and there's no competition to speak of."

The blonde glared at his friend, hating how he always had to have a point when it came to those sorts of things. "Well then what do you suppose I do, huh, smart-ass?"

"The only thing you _can_ do, Mello. Go look for him and set things straight! Remember, you're supposed to be working as a _team_ with this!" He watched his friend visibly shudder at the words. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could finally get so frustrated with him that I finally kill him?" Mello said with a sick smirk, but then continued before Matt could, "Fine, fine, idiot, I'll do what you want. But _not_ because I want to do this, or work in a team or anything, but because I refuse to be stuck doing this by myself." He stepped past Matt to go to Near's room to check first.

"That's the spirit, Mello!" Matt cheered him on quietly, heading back to their room.

Mello scoffed, watching Matt go into their room and close the door before he turned back to Near's door and carefully opened the door, as if he was afraid to lurk unattended into the enemy territory. However, he only found Near's cold room empty of the equally cold being.

'_Of course he's not going to make this easy.'_ He thought to himself, closing the door again. _'Well… he did say he was going to study; might as well go check the library next.'_ With that decided, he headed down the hall to the stairs.

It was odd to see Wammy's at night, when it was so quiet and still and lacking any sort of life given to it from the orphans usually running around. He remembered how walking around the building at night used to creep him out as a kid, when he still believed in monsters and ghosts. There was a small part of him that wondered, as he continued on the first floor towards the library, if Isaiah would someday have those same fears.

For some reason the thought brought a smile to him.

Mello pushed open one of the double doors to the library and stepped inside, looking around quietly for his rival. _'Why would he still be here anyway? What could he _possibly_ need to study that much of?'_ He pushed away the lingering thought that followed that reminded him that he didn't even remember the last time Near admitted that he needed to study something.

After passing a few aisles of books, it opened up to a sitting area with multiple tables –most cleared for the day of any residing books. But one in the back corner was still filled up with small stacks of books. Mello looked over, and spotting his rival instantly –the stark white contrasting with the darkness too much to _not_ miss him.

He stopped though, before going over, taking in the details of him. He couldn't help the small grin. Near sat at the table full of books, many open around him; his arms were pulled up on the table, cradling his head which lay atop one of the books.

Mello grinned, feeling a sense of achievement off seeing his rival at such a vulnerable position. Without making a sound, he pulled out one of the chairs next to Near and sat down. Carefully taking one of the open books next to Near's head, he suddenly slammed it closed, hard enough to cause a large _slam_ sound to reverberate around the room and effectively startling Near out of his sleep –his eyes shot open and his head flew up, meeting the darkness and for a brief second Mello saw the confusion flash through those grey orbs.

"Morning." He smirked, drawing Near's attention to him.

Dark eyes fell on him and Mello watched the other throw up all his defensive walls against Mello. "What are you doing here?" He asked in that robotic, monotone way he always did.

Mello couldn't help the grin across his face. "What are you still doing here? What could you _possibly_ be studying so intently, Near? I have _never_ seen you care about something so much as to _fall asleep_ over something you were studying," He wondered, being met with only silence as Near watched him with hardened eyes, sitting back in his chair and pulling a leg up to him, twirling a lock of white hair.

Mello finally looked to the books that were in front of Near, reading parts of pages and the spines of one's stacked beside him. Children. Feeding. Caring for. Teaching. Raising. Every book on the table had something to do with children and infants. Blue eyes shot over to Near; the wheels in his mind beginning to turn as be began to understand.

Even so, he still had to ask, "What the hell are you trying to do, Near?"

Grey eyes looked away, continuing to twirl that same lock of hair, "I'm simply studying this material. I felt it would be beneficial to know how to take care of Isaiah, Mello, because, as it stands now, I am in no place to take on such a role. Do you disagree?"

No." He replied instantly, "but these stupid things can't teach you how to do everything, Near!" He pointed out, beginning to close books around the other as if to demonstrate his point

"And how do you determine that, Mello?" He asked, eyes flicking over to him once more. "What will I not be able to learn from them?"

"To _care_ for one thing! Something you _don't_ do that you _need_ to start doing if we're going to have any hope of L's plan being a success."

Things went quiet between them, their eyes tensely locked with each other. Neither really knew what to say. Neither was sure whether to blame the other for every wrong they'd done, or to take the blame on themselves. Each plan was both right and wrong in their own way.

"I don't know how to do that." It was Near who spoke, and who broke the stare, somehow conveying his embarrassment through the simple action, though only someone who knew him as well as Mello did would be able to pick up on the subtle hint.

"I know." He stated bluntly. "The only thing _you_ care about making sure you have everyone exactly where you want them in your little plan, to obtain everything you want for the future."

"And you believe you are so perfect, Mello? What about that incident earlier today, running out when Isaiah needed you? How cowardly." Near retorted instantly.

Mello drew back, fighting back his every desire to either yell at Near, or punch him. Finally he forced himself to bite his tongue and stay quiet briefly to remain calm. "I _know_ I'm not perfect, Near. _You,_ however, don't. You've never had to be imperfect." He stated. "People aren't just like math, Near. You can't manipulate them all around to be and do whatever you want them to in order to reach your goal. Sure, sometimes you have to, but you can't behave that way with all of them. Especially not a four month old baby who only wants love and to be taken care of now that he has no one."

Again there was silence between them. Somehow, between it, Mello could pick up again on Near's subtle message, _"I don't know how to love."_ No, that wasn't quite it. _"I don't trust myself to love."_

"You can't learn everything about how to take care of him from a book, Near. You just have to _do_ it. You have to interact with him and learn through being with him."

Mello stood up, extending a hand to Near, who looked from it to Mello warily. "Come on, enough of this ridiculousness, Near. I might hate you, but that's not anywhere near as important as he is. As much as I hate to admit it, we're partners now, so we're going to have to get along and work together. I'll teach you how to care for him, Near, and you… well… I'll just teach you, for once, you prick."

Near smirked, taking Mello's hand and allowing him to pull him up, "I'll teach you how to raise him to not be an impulsive deviant like you." Near replied, only half jokingly.

Their eyes locked once more, a sort of fire burning between them, but not of competition anymore, but instead one of determination. "With us as parents, Isaiah'll be the best damn L the world has ever seen. Better than L himself!" Mello stated.

Near nodded with that small smirk remaining, "Yes, well, that was the idea, Mello."

* * *

><p>AN: Well, there you go, there's the third chapter of a Gift from God. I kind of felt like the last part was a bit forced, but who knows. I know I'm going to need to do some thinking about what I want to do from here on out. But we'll see. Anyway, please let me know what you think! It'd really mean a lot to me if you'd spare your thoughts.

Please review  
><em>-Forbiddensoul562<em>


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: First off, let me apologize so much for the huge delay on this chapter. I got caught up in my other story, The Art of Isolation and somehow this got put on the back burner. That, and the fact that I really am not quite sure yet where this story is going to go. Anyone who has any ideas and would like to contribute them would be an amazing help. Other than that, we'll just have to see what happens. I'm not yet ready to give up on the story yet, though! So you shouldn't either! Also, a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and enjoyed this! And thanks to my beta, Lumorai, for the edit job.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters used in this story. I do, however, own Isaiah.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

_'Mello knows a lot about children...I wonder where he gets that from,'_ Near found himself thinking as he lay in bed. After leaving the library, both he and Mello had agreed to start working anew in the morning. As a team this time instead of against each other, individually.

From behind his closed lids he replayed the memory of earlier that morning, Mello teaching him how to hold the child and how worried they'd been about dropping Isaiah. He remembered the look of triumph on Mello's face. Not at finally knowing how to do something better than him, though. Instead, the look on his face was pride… pride in himself.

_'Obviously he has cared for children before, if it comes to him so easily… I wonder when that happened, in his past. He does not seem the type to know how to care for a child, nor be talented in such a situation.'_ He sighed and turned on his side, away from the door. _'I suppose I should be thankful for such assistance… Isaiah would have no chance if it was just he and I.'_

His thoughts fell quiet for a moment, a desperate attempt to let sleep take him. But no matter how much he knew he needed rest, the moment he tried to let things settle, his mind started to whirl back up again.

_'Eighteen years… such a long time. Two hundred sixteen months. Five thousand eight hundred forty-four days.' _ He sighed. _'And what happens if something happens to L? Would he be left here? Would he go with me… us?'_ Another small sigh escaped him. There were simply too many variables to try and answer it all himself.

_'For once, I cannot know all the answers. I will simply have to wait and see what happens. I don't think even L knows what would happen should anything deviate from his current plan,'_ he exhaled, forcing the thoughts down. _'We'll see what happens…'_

Everything in the room, including all of Near's thoughts, finally quieted long enough for the young genius's consciousness to begin to slip from him into the blissful peace of a dreamless sleep.

Just as Near had found peace and rest, as a sudden sound filtered into his ears, breaking the tranquil atmosphere of the room. The dulled out sound of crying. Near cringed a bit at the sudden sound, trying to ignore it as best he could, as his half-conscious state was unable to identify the source. He instead attempted to block it out, under the false sense that, if he did, eventually the sound would go away.

_'Who would be crying so loudly at this time of night…?'_ Near thought irritably.

Dark eyes snapped open suddenly to meet the similar surroundings. _'Isaiah.'_ Almost immediately, though, he sighed. _'I thought kids were supposed to be past waking up in the middle of the night by his age?'_ It didn't matter, though. The boy was crying, and he needed to go figure out why, as there was a side of him that didn't trust that Mello would.

Shaking the thought from his mind, Near sat up and let his eyes adjust to the dark before pushing himself up out of the warm bed, resigning that he was probably never going to get to sleep that night.

As he exited the room his thoughts began creating a list of things that could be done to quiet the child and calm him down enough to fall back asleep. Even with all the things on his list, created solely from the books he'd been reading earlier, he stopped outside the bedroom, unable to bring himself to reach forward and open the door.

He sighed. He just didn't have the confidence in himself yet to be able to do this without the eye of someone who _did_ know what he was doing.

Near continued from the door to Isaiah's room and continued to the next one down the hall, to Mello's room. Opening the door quietly, he peered in, though it was too dark to see much besides the outlines of the two beds and the two figures in them.

"Mello." Near called to him. He knew that he was a light sleeper, but even Mello should've been able to hear the child on the other side of his wall. "Mello, I know there's no way you can sleep through this." Still there was no response from the blonde.

"Mello, get your kid!" Came the muffled sound from the bed closest to Near, and as his eyes darted over he watched as Matt threw his pillow across the room and nailed Mello, causing the blonde to grumble, annoyed, before he finally sat up.

"Why the hell…" The blonde exclaimed drowsily, standing up and looking towards the far wall, where the incessant crying from Isaiah could be heard. "Why is he up?" He muttered out loud.

"Who cares?" Matt complained as he turned over, away from the blonde. "Just go fix it."

Mello sighed, finally gaining true consciousness. "Alright, alright… the quicker he goes to sleep the quicker I can too," he said, going towards Near, to the door. "Not that we're going to get much anyway…" Once in the hallway he sighed. "Of course he's not old enough to just let _himself_ go back to sleep."

Near watched him carefully as they entered into Isaiah's room, closing the door behind them in a desperate attempt to muffle the sound of the boy's cries from getting out and bothering the other orphans. "And at what age will that come about?" he asked as Mello went over and picked up Isaiah.

"Probably next month." He shrugged, his azure orbs watching the child in his arms. "Who knows. Some kids it comes later, and some earlier. Hard to tell, with this one." He gave a small smile as Isaiah's crying began to die down into pitiful whines.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Near asked, watching from the middle of the room feeling unbelievably awkward and out of place. There was a moment where he contemplated leaving, saying Mello had it under control and walking out. But in the back of his mind he knew that escaping like that would make him no better than Mello had been, running out in the infirmary.

Mello looked over for a moment, then back down to Isaiah. "Hm… well, he doesn't really seem upset about anything in particular, really." He paused a moment, as if realizing who he was talking to. "When I picked him up he stopped crying so loud. If he really wanted something, he would've continued."

Near nodded in understanding, making a mental note of it to go along with all the other notes he had in the back of his head regarding Isaiah. However, they all seemed so unorganized and out of place. Like he was making notes of things he'd yet to be able to put to use. He felt utterly useless in the situation, and he hated it.

As if to break him from his thoughts, Mello suddenly stepped over to him. "Here, you hold him for a moment."

Near's eyes narrowed, though he accepted the baby who was still whining. "Why do you always pawn him off onto me, Mello? This doesn't seem like 'teaching' so much as you trying to take control over him and I." Mello stepped past him, but stopped at the door as Near finished his accusations.

"I'm going to…" He sighed, obviously a bit frustrated. "Stop, Near." His tone was blunt, and left no room for input from the younger. "I'm not _doing_ anything. I'm going to make him something to eat. If you want to come and learn, then that's fine. But considering the time of night, I didn't want to bring him out and risk waking everyone else up. This isn't about control. It's about efficiency."

Near was silent a moment, a part of him taken off guard by the sureness of Mello's statement. But another part of him knew he should have seen that, and understood what Mello was trying to do. "I'll join you," he finally stated.

Mello shrugged, starting out, "Have it your way."

As Near followed him out into the dark hallway of Wammy's and they headed down to the kitchen on the first floor, Near couldn't help letting his thoughts wander_. 'Perhaps,' he thought, 'the reason things are not going so well between us is because we lack the… bond, that normal parents share. Mello and I know each other better than anyone else, but we do not share the same fluidity and real understanding of each other.'_

He looked up, watching the blonde in front of him intently, in an attempt to read his thoughts without saying a single thing_. 'We know what each other will do in any situation. But we don't know how to apply that to ourselves in order to make one solid team. We're still trying to use it to benefit ourselves, and working against each other.'_ He looked down to Isaiah_. 'That should not be something to pass on to him.'_

At the same time, he had to think about how Isaiah affected it, too. A small part of him thought that perhaps Mello and himself were more of a team with each other _before_ Isaiah was thrown into the mix. They did know what made each other tick, and they knew what they could and couldn't do around the other in order to make living with each other bearable. But now, with the circumstances changed, he had to wonder how healthy it was for the three of them, being as how the two eldest were now forced to cooperate to raise a child they had no bonds to. It seemed a bit of a risk, in Near's eyes.

_'Are you being a little too hopeful or expectant, L?'_ he wondered as they reached the dark kitchen. The thought disappeared as fast as it occurred as Mello began rummaging around the cupboards.

"They keep his formula and bottles around here somewhere…" Mello muttered, continuing to look until he finally found them beside the kitchen sink. "Alright… here's what you do." Light eyes met darker ones as he opened up the tin canister to show him. "You spoon enough in to fill about half the bottle." He explained as he demonstrated. "Then fill the rest with water. Then you have to warm it, but not in the microwave -that could be very bad if it turns out too hot," Blue eyes moving to Isaiah. "You don't want to burn his mouth. Trust me, we'd never hear the end of it…"

A small smile appeared across Mello's face as he screwed the nipple back on the bottle and began shaking. "Shake to mix it up, and then hold under warm tap water to heat it a bit." He shrugged as he turned on the faucet. "You can always use warmed water on the stove, but I've never trusted that nearly as much, for the same reason that microwaves don't work." He held it for a moment under the water for a moment before taking it back and giving it to Near. "Simple as that," he stated with an air of ease.

"Easy enough for you to say." Near muttered, taking the bottle and carefully putting it to Isaiah's lips. The small boy fussed momentarily, turning his head away from Near, pushing away the bottle as best his little hands could.

Mello chuckled lightly as he moved closer and took the bottle from Near, carefully putting it to Isaiah's lips till the boy finally relented and opened to accept the food. Once he realized what it was, his little hands touched the bottle to keep it in place.

In that moment they could only be an inch or so apart; from their sudden close proximity, Near was able to take in his every feature for the first time. In that moment he realized that he'd never been that close to Mello before. He'd never taken the time to take in those minute details as he did in that moment.

The depths of those crystal blue eyes that hid absolutely nothing, the clean, light smell of his golden locks, which in it's own way was masked by a deep and musky smell of his being. The complete honesty of his smile was radiant, and in that moment Near could see that Mello had his every wall of defense down.

Near swallowed hard, nervous for a moment to be given that amount of trust from his self-proclaimed rival and be expected not to abuse it.

The thought he'd had before about the fluidity of two parents working together as a team flashed through his mind once more. The possibility of such a thing happening…

The other's voice cut through his observations. "There. See? It's that easy." The blonde said, letting go to let Near hold the bottle in place and starting once again out of the kitchen. "Come on, we'll go back and wait for him to fall asleep. With a warm bottle like that, it shouldn't take long." As he looked back, his blue eyes were glowing in the dark, a small proud grin painted on his features.

Near followed after him, still plagued with the feeling of utter uselessness. All of this seemed to come so easily to Mello, how was he ever supposed to pick up on it all and be able to know what Isaiah wanted at all times? There were too many variables that Near didn't like. "How did you know that's what he wanted?"

Mello looked back. "That's not what he wanted," he stated. "What he wanted was attention. Just to be held for a while." He shrugged, "the bottle was just to make sure he would be able to get to sleep and wouldn't keep us up the rest of the night. I'm thinking he didn't like waking up alone somewhere so unfamiliar to him and just wanted held."

"How are you so in tune with all of this, Mello?" Near pressed as they reached Isaiah's room. "This does not come as easily to me." The blonde sat in the middle of the room while the younger went over to the rocking chair and sat down, carefully going back and forth in it as he kept an eye on Isaiah in his arms.

Mello shrugged, "It's not that hard, Near. It's only been a day. You can't expect it to come _that_ easily. Besides, if I'm going to be _teaching_ you, then you have to give some time for the situation to call for it." He laid back on the ground, folding his arms behind his head and letting his eyes slip closed.

"That doesn't answer the question, Mello."

Blue eyes slid open halfway, watching Near for a long moment. "I've taken care of kids before, that's all. I know what they usually want, from the experience I've had. It's not really something you forget." He explained, however vaguely, as his eyes slipped closed.

"Before you came to Wammy's?"

"Stop trying to interrogate me, Near. The fact of the matter is, I'm better at this than you and you need my help." He smirked. "Keep asking questions and I _won't_ help you at all."

Near gave a small smile but let it drop, moving his eyes back down to Isaiah, who lay content in his arms sucking away on his bottle. Hazel eyes looked up at him expectantly, and for the first time Near felt the sudden weight of pressure put on him at the idea of having something so small be so absolutely dependent upon him for everything.

"Do you think we'll be able to do this, Mello?" he asked, quieter, and keeping his eyes down on Isaiah, as if afraid to meet Mello's eyes and admit his own doubt in their abilities. He hated to express such a doubt and show that weakness, but at the same time, if they were to be partners, then he knew he had to trust him with every confident statement and doubtful one. He'd had to trust Mello with more than he'd ever trusted upon anyone, and hope that Mello would do the same.

He felt blue eyes upon him. "Of course we will," an equally quiet voice told him. Near could hear his own doubt in the tone, but at the same time he could also hear Mello trying to be as confident as possible for him. "We don't have much of a choice, anyway. If we fail this, we fail L himself."

Near nodded. "What kind of image does that put out to the rest of Wammy's? What kind of image does that show to L himself?" As Isaiah finished the last of his bottle, Near took it from him and set it on a side table, lifting him up to lay against his chest, bringing one leg up to him as best he could and gently rocking back and forth.

"When have you ever been one to care about images, Near? Quit worrying about it so much. We'll be fine," Mello assured him as best he could.

Near could only nod in reply and let the room fall into a peaceful silence between the three. He closed his eyes for a moment, continuing to rock the small boy in his arms to get him to fall asleep again. However, after a moment he heard a small whine come from him once more.

"Shh…" Near hushed him quietly, feeling Mello's eyes on him, as if waiting for Near to give him that confused look and cue him to take over. But somehow Near suddenly felt as though he didn't need it in that moment.

Without a single conscious thought to control his actions he found himself patting Isaiah's back lightly, while he quietly shushed him. When another small whine escaped the baby boy, Near sighed, and pulled Isaiah up to lay closer to his heart, and began to hum a tune he didn't know he remembered, from a time that'd long since past. It was hard for him to go back to such a time, but it soothed the child down, and that made it worth it.

With Isaiah now silent and the room falling once more into a peaceful quiet, minus his light humming, it was easier to allow himself to relax behind his tired lids and finally allow himself to fall away, and rest.

-:-

The next thing Near felt was the sudden feeling of a weight slowly falling away from his chest. Somewhere in his half-conscious state of mind that desperately tried to find the surface of consciousness, he remembered where he was and that he had Isaiah resting on him.

_'He's falling'_ was the next thought that crossed his mind.

In that second his grip over the boy tightened to secure him and his eyes snapped open. His heart was beating out of his chest from the sheer combination of adrenaline and pure worry, but in the next second his eyes looked up and found Mello's watching him from where he stood over him.

"Calm down." He whispered. "We fell asleep. I'm going to put him back in the crib so we can go get a couple hours of sleep," he explained with a small smile. "I can't just let you sleep here with him or he _will_ fall," Mello said, as if having read his thoughts.

Near nodded, releasing his tight grip over Isaiah and watching carefully as Mello took him from his arms and carefully put him in the cradle not far from where the rocking chair was. Near yawned as he stood up, looking outside, where the first morning rays of dawn were flooding into the room.

"How long were we asleep?" He asked.

"I'd guess only an hour or so," Mello responded with a shrug, motioning for Near to follow out of the room after he carefully set the boy down in the crib, making sure he wasn't going to wake up and then stepping away. "And I guess we should at least be able to get another two or three hours of sleep before he wakes up again," He explained, closing the door behind him.

Near nodded. He hated going to sleep with a time in his head. It ruined all the comfort of sleeping when he constantly ticked down how much longer he would have. _'Two more hours… an hour and forty-five minutes… hour and a half…'_ It wasn't enough for him, and he knew he wasn't going to get any rest at all, now. But anything was better than nothing to get him through the day.

As he stepped away, however, Mello's voice caught him. "Near." He turned back, to see Mello standing by his own bedroom door. "You know… I don't think you're nearly as bad at this as you think. You don't give yourself enough credit."

Near couldn't help a small smile, reaching up to twirl a lock of hair. "Speak for yourself, Mello."

"Seriously. I think you've got that instinct in you, you just don't realize it. Give it a while of living with him, and I bet you you'll eventually have it down better than I do." Mello told him. It was odd to hear him be so forthcoming with information of Near having the capability of being better than him. But at the same time, he wouldn't deny that it did feel good to be told he wasn't as lost of a hope as he thought himself.

Near nodded, "I suppose we'll see then."

Mello nodded, "Yeah well… see you in a few hours then, I guess." He said, before opening the door and retreating into his bedroom -closing the door behind him.

Near remaining in his spot in the hallway for a moment more, watching the door Mello had just gone into and playing over his words once more. _'How odd of you to admit I might possibly have the capacity to be able to do this.," _Near thought. _'Are you also being as trustworthy as I am with you, or are you leading me instead into a false sense of security?'_

He sighed, turning towards his own room. _'I shouldn't be skeptical of him. After all, the competition comes after Isaiah, now. Becoming L is always first priority, but if we allow that to clog out senses, then Isaiah is the one who suffers for it. It's not fair to him. Somehow we'll have to learn how to compete and yet be a team at the same time.'_

As he closed his own bedroom door behind him, he looked around his empty room, a chilling feeling of isolation seeping into his bones. _'Or maybe that's not it… perhaps through him, somehow we'll attain the level of companionship needed to be a team. To work together… To bring Isaiah up to be the perfect L, and at the same time become even better than L, ourselves.'_

He swallowed, knowing it was a long shot to think such a thing could happen between them. _'The groundwork has been set. We're sealed in our places now with Isaiah. Now… Mello, what will happen? Will this go as smoothly as L believes it shall? Or will it all go up into flames in front of us?'_

* * *

><p>AN: Well, there you go. A little bit of a filler chapter, but at the same time I do also believe that it shows progression in Mello and Near's ability to work with each other and their developing, I'd dare say 'relationship'. Anyway, as I said in the top note, if you have any ideas you'd like to share with me that you'd like to see in this story, then please feel free to let me know. And as always, let me know what you thought of this chapter, and I will try to get the next one out soon!

Please review  
><em>-Forbiddensoul562<em>


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guess what! New chapter! I bet you didn't see that coming! But holy hell it's been two years since I've updated this at all. Hopefully _someone_ still care about this story's existence... Before now I had a lot of issue with figuring out what I was going to do with the plot of this story, so I didn't want to update with so much filler. Hence why it went untouched… But… even though I'm still kind of in the process of working on a plot, I really couldn't deal with just letting this story die on my page considering how many people seemed to enjoy it. So, I know it's been a long time, but here's the next chapter! Please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters used in this story. Except Isaiah.

Chapter 5

* * *

><p>The first few days were the hardest; they always seem to be in life. It was like starting something new and fresh. Until you get into a sort of unconscious pattern and get a good feel for what it is you're doing, nothing feels quite right. Well… at least, that's how Near saw it. Isaiah was something new. Something troublesome and full of complications which threw a wrench into his life.<p>

Oh how much he sounded like a single mother with that thought, he'd often muse. Well… perhaps a single mother without an ounce of maternity instinct or feelings, of course.

Regardless, Isaiah was something he could have never predicted would come into his life. Of all things on this world, Isaiah was the one thing that he couldn't predict even after spending almost every waking hour with the infant. The 'schedule' Mello preached about had yet to be fully implemented. Or, rather, it seemed that whenever they _had_ attempted to put some order into place, Isaiah was the first to complicate it.

Their routine went something to the affect of: get up in the morning (assuming Isaiah slept through the night), change him, (but then he wouldn't have a soiled diaper), feed him (but then he wouldn't want food), let him play, (but then he'd want nothing but to be held). And so on throughout the course of the day.

He was a stubborn little four month old.

Much like someone _else_ Near knew…

Speaking of the blonde, Near found observing the progress of the two's slowly growing 'partnership' to be quite interesting. He smirked at the contradiction in that statement. There didn't appear to be nearly the same level of hatred constantly being directed his way.

There was always the underlying hatred, of course. Mello just wouldn't be himself if at least _one_ insult a day wasn't slung at him. But somehow even that had become more reserved.

Mello had become, in his own way, more guarded of the things he did and said when around Near and Isaiah. As if he was actually taking into account the fact that his actions would eventually have an effect on the little soul they cared for.

But everything, without exception, went right back to normal the moment Isaiah wasn't around them. The blonde was like a switch, or perhaps more like a finely tuned dial of a machine.

During classes their dynamic was no different, as was likewise when it was just the two successors by themselves after putting Isaiah down to sleep. Near found these actions to be all the more interesting. It proved his long-held belief that Mello did have an actual sense of control within himself. He consciously knew when things were appropriate, and wasn't controlled by some unfathomable sense of anger towards his competitor. At least not without some form of stimulation.

Near couldn't help making Mello the center of his mentally constructed lab. The prospects of all the possible experimentations were endless.

"Near." A pause. "Near!" Mello's voice cut Near out of his dark musings, bringing all of Wammy's back into perspective and him back to his position on the floor of the common room.

His dark eyes darted up to Mello, who was casually lounging on a couch under the window with a book, and casually holding an open bar of chocolate between the fingers of the other hand. Blue eyes met Near's for only a moment, conveying something that Near couldn't quite read.

"Hm?"

"Isaiah." He motioned with his head to the infant who was beside Near. Near followed the look to see the child, laying on his belly, had somehow managed to take on of Near's puzzle pieces that were strewn around the area and was shoving the white piece into his mouth.

"Isaiah, No." Near scolded, sighing as he took the slobbered piece from the boy. It seemed like that phrase tumbled from his lips a hundred times every day about things the little black-haired child did and got his hands into. Whether it was trying to gum Near's toys, or pulling on either of their hair, or repeatedly dropping items just to laugh as one of them continuously picked it up off the floor from him for him. He was definitely a trouble maker.

Just like Mello.

The blonde snickered as if taking some sort of sick pleasure in Near's puzzle being slobbered on, then turning his attention back to his book and taking a bite off his bar of chocolate.

Near shot him a look before turning back to Isaiah, who's chubby face had contorted into a pout at having his new-found toy be taken away from him. "Don't give me that look. That's not your toy." Near chided, picking the boy up and placing him in a little bouncer that was set beside him, so the child's little grabby hands wouldn't victimize more of his puzzle pieces. "You know better than that." He said, delicately examining the moist white piece.

From the side he heard another snicker. Near's glare turned to the blonde. "What?"

"Nothing." Mello shook his head.

"Mello." Near's voice let off the slightest amount of annoyance. He was already bothered by his own actions towards Isaiah; it was a new concept to find himself constantly having to question what he did, and he didn't like it. The last thing he needed was for his inexperience to be shoved in his face by his so-called 'partner'.

Though perhaps the blonde did it as a sort of karmic response to all the times Near was unconsciously better than him in their studies. He almost instantly pushed the thought away, telling himself that that didn't excuse Mello's actions.

"I told you you'd get used to this." Mello vaguely elaborated.

Near's eyes stayed focused on him. "I don't think it's necessarily accurate to draw such a conclusion after only two weeks of having him." He then looked down at his scattered pieces again, suddenly not wanting to finish the puzzle now that one of the pieces was swelling with spit and wouldn't fit properly.

"Pssh, please. The way you talk to him. You're practically his _mother_." Mello commented with a sneer as he slammed his book shut, abandoning it as he swung his legs to the floor and leaned forward to observe the two.

Dark eyes looked up at him from Isaiah. "Me? Isaiah's mother? Mello. Let's be honest here. Who's been the one teaching me how to take care of him? Who knows his routine and adjusts for every complication he gives us? Who always seems to know _exactly_ what he wants at all times, hm? I'm fairly certain that's called motherly instinct."

"Did you just-"

"You heard me. I'm not saying it again." Near cut him off.

A silence fell between them. Near watched as Mello's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched up momentarily before releasing. Mentally, Near began taking down notes on Mello's reaction and the way he held himself back with almost perfect control. He charted the comment and logged the response, making note to see how far he could push those reactions with time.

"That's just action, Near. There's a difference between knowing what to do to keep someone alive and actually having a _connection_ to said person." The side of Mello's mouth cocked up as he brought the sweet candy to his lips. His words seemed to engage Near in this verbal banter and daring him to make his next move. To which the younger just rolled his eyes. There was a difference between bantering alone, and bantering around their responsibility.

Before Near could begin his response, though, Mello's icy blue eyes snapped over to Isaiah. The emotion laced within them changed almost instantaneously from a burning fire of need to prove himself, to one that was endlessly concerned and protective. It was a rare look which Mello showed solely to Isaiah. It was something which Near had never really thought possible for the blonde until Isaiah was dropped into their lives.

This too he logged down in his mental records for later.

"Don't give me that look, Isa. You're not getting any more puzzle pieces! No!" Mello chided. Near broke out of his analysis and looked to the baby. The pout on his face was still present, and was growing quickly into what time and again had proved would be a full cry. He sighed, fighting with himself on whether he should put up his puzzle before completing it, if only so it wasn't a temptation to Isaiah anymore.

"And _I'm_ the motherly role between us?" Near finally shot at Mello almost under his breath.

"There's a difference. Everyone knows _I'm _capable of having connections and relationships with people. _You're_ the robot, here." Mello rested back on the couch, though his gaze remained ever vigilant on Isaiah.

"Right…" Near sighed, twirling a lock of hair while beginning to clean up his puzzle. His brows furrowed as Mello's words seemed to suddenly click mentally. "Isa? Now we're calling him Isa?"

Mello shrugged, "Why not? Matt calls me Mels. Regardless of what I think or say about it about it. Isa is just shorter."

"That's not his name."

Mello rolled his eyes in response, "You focus too much on the black and white, Near, and despite what you might believe, people are not like that. You're in for a rude awakening with him."

Things between the two successors and Isaiah fell into a comfortable quiet. Somewhere in the span of time that the two had had Isaiah under their care they had mastered the art of being able to stand each other's presence without the overwhelming need to break out into some kind of competition. It was something about Isaiah's presence; something about having a much higher cause before them that neither of them could realistically compete over.

"Have you ever considered, Mello, that Isaiah is just this boy's alias?" Near pondered aloud as he twirled a lock of hair.

"What do you mean?"

"Well this boy was born to a woman four months before coming into our care. His mother had to have called him something. It's what people do. Sentiment and all that." He explained. "Which means he does, in fact, have a real name… a true identity for who he was before all of this. But no one will probably ever know what it is. Perhaps not even L, or he himself."

"The ultimate nameless persona…" Mello filled in quietly with a sigh.

Both of them sadly watched the boy who bounced in his little seat, his tiny hands grabbing at the air as he made nonsensical 'ba' sounds in time with his bounces.

Every orphan ultimately had the same sort of story. Something happened to their parents. They were discovered by Wammy and brought to this orphanage. Isaiah was, of course, no exception to this rule. However, each orphan before him had their own tie to the past. Most remembered at least the faintest details regarding their parents. What's more, they knew the name that their parents had given them at birth. They knew who they _once_ were before life took it away from them.

But Isaiah… he would grow up knowing nothing else but _this_ name, and _this_ orphanage. His life would be nothing more than cases and being groomed to be more perfect of a detective than L himself. There was no realistic tie to a past. There were no memories of nightmarish events to ever come and haunt him in the dead of night which could hold him back.

He was the perfect clean slate.

Though both successors had this sad thought on their mind, neither Near nor Mello could really decide whether this was for the better or for the worse in the long run.

"Mello, may I ask you a question?"

"Would it stop you if I said no?" Mello retorted quietly.

"Why 'Isaiah'? Why is that name?" Near finally wondered aloud.

Mello's lips pursed momentarily, taken aback from the sudden question and pulling him from the previously depressing thought. "Why that name?" He repeated as he took another bite off his bar of chocolate.

"Well, Isaiah means 'salvation of the Lord', or 'God's helper'."

Near's brow furled. "Are you implying that L is God?"

A glare was his only response to the question. "Do you know who Isaiah was?"

"He was a prophet." Their eyes locked, in that way that made everything else momentarily inconsequential. It was the sort of thing that could only be known between two kinds of relationships; lovers, and rivals. But that, too, was an inconsequential matter.

"Yeah. He was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible."

"There were a lot of prophets in the Bible, Mello. Amos, Micah, Zechariah, Ezekiel…"

The blonde sighed loudly. "Well I wasn't about to name him after a Schizophrenic, now was I?" He said with a small smile as a result of a joke that was completely lost on Near. "Anyway… Isaiah was a prophet who prophesized the doom of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel because the people had turned away from God. But, he also prophesized that Judah could become the kingdom of God, if they changed their ways."

"So Isaiah is the kingdom of God."

Mello shrugged. "He could be." Both their eyes moved over to the little boy, who had unconsciously lulled himself to sleep with all the bouncing movement in his seat. "As it was prophesized to the people, he has two choices: either become the glorious kingdom of God as a result of rightful practice… or the people will face an inevitable doom and destruction… It's dependent completely on his actions alone."

"Don't you think you're being a little over dramatic?" Near asked.

There was a sudden clearing of a throat from the doorway before Mello could respond. Both sets of eyes moved over to the door, finding two girls standing there watching them, albeit a bit hesitant. "Hey Mello, Near. Can we take Isaiah and play with him for a while?" The young girl in front asked, fingering the ends of her long brown hair nervously.

Near looked over and observed the way Mello's blue orbs narrowed. _'I told him it was motherly instinct.'_ He thought with a hint of a smirk.

"Play with him?" Mello interrogated, standing suddenly. "Where?"

The one in front shrugged, "I don't know. Our bedroom? What does it matter?" Being called out by Mello caused the girl's responses to shoot into defensive mode. Not that Near could necessarily blame her. Mello could be intimidating at times, or in the very least he attempted to give off that impression. Near supposed that perhaps only he could really see how brittle that wall of intimidation was.

"What do you mean 'what does it matter'?! It matters for every reason! Isaiah isn't just some new orphan brought in for all of you to assimilate into your little cliques. He was given _to us_ by L himself _specifically_ to be groomed into the perfect successor! Therefore, it matters for every reason where he is and what's going on!" Mello spat back.

"Mello." Near chided.

Somehow the one word was all the blonde needed to reign in his aggression and back off from the situation to regain composure. It was something about being co-caregivers to Isaiah, he determined. That co-dependency between them which dictated when for one to take over and the other to back off, or vice versa.

It was something that was just _there_. As if it had always existed…

The blonde successor let out a heavy breath. "Fine. But Isa better be back with us tonight, got it? Fed and changed! Or you can kiss any more chances of getting him goodbye. Got it?"

The two girls nodded, their faces coming alight with joy instantly as they gave a small squeal of happiness, practically running into the room and taking up the snoozing boy from his seat and leaving almost as quickly as they had come.

Near watched the blonde smirk a bit as they left. "Good job. I think the common vernacular here is… helicopter-mom?" Near commented.

Mello's fists clenched. "Shut your damn mouth. God forbid I don't want anything to happen to him. He is _our_ responsibility." He justified, instantly retorting back to his old temperament now that Isaiah was out of their sight. It hadn't taken much to set Mello off. As if all of it had been bottling up all day and was just waiting for an excuse to be cracked open.

"Right." Near chuckled to himself. "Well… now what do we do?" There was a sudden sense of emptiness that flooded over him. It was a sense that by taking Isaiah out of the mix, he had suddenly lost a bit of the control over the situation. For as unpredictable as Isaiah was, it was an entirely different concept to just not have him at all, now.

"What do you mean 'what do we do now'?" Mello questioned in disbelief. With Near's silence he took the motion to head to the door, finishing off the bar of chocolate in his hand before continuing. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'd say that both of us should catch up on all the things we don't normally get to do because we have Isa around."

Near nodded, his tidied puzzle completely forgotten on the carpeted floor. "Yes… I suppose that does sound like a good idea." As he said it he couldn't help think that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to let go of all the control and just let the pieces fall wherever they may.

Even if just for the briefest of moments.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, it wasn't much of a plot-filled chapter, but I had to kind of set the stage for the next part of the story, which I've already got written out. So, hopefully it won't be another two year wait for the next installment. Hopefully this still meets a good quality, though. I find it hard to go back to a story after such a long time and be able to just naturally get back into the groove of things. So any opinions you have would be greatly appreciated! Like I said, hopefully the next chapter will be soon!

Please review  
><em>-Forbiddensoul562<em>


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the bit of a wait. Considering it's so close to going back to school, I've been getting ready to go back to university. But yeah, here's the next chapter. I edited it as best I could while being a bit distracted, so please forgive any errors. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed! You can't even begin to imagine how happy I am knowing that despite the two year wait, people are still willing to come back to this story with me. I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of the characters used in this story, except Isaiah.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

The more time that passed the easier it became to handle Isaiah. Even if Isaiah continued to be a troublemaker who refused to follow a basic schedule, somehow even his non-compliant tendencies found their way perfectly fitted into the daily routine. The more exposure Near had to him, the more he found it easier to work around Isaiah's constant need to complicate his and Mello's lives. Near was beginning to feel as though he was slowly developing his own equation for determining what Isaiah wanted when he cried.

Mello called it 'instinct', but Near found that to be a complicated word to use. Instinct implied that Near had developed an innate, unconscious knowing for what Isaiah wanted. Near called it an equation; it was a simple process of elimination he could use based on the events of the rest of the day. It wasn't a perfect system, but it was a start.

Speaking of the blonde, the situation between himself and Mello seemed to be ever shaky at best. There were times Near was led to believe they were making progress working as a team, but as if to counter Near's previous thought, Mello would then snap at him; throw them right back to their original position. Things were more or less fine when Isaiah was around -the greater good always outweighing competition. It was the moment they left him which continued to make them each become volatile.

Four weeks since receiving Isaiah. It felt like four months. Each day brought with it something new. A new challenge, or a new factor of Isaiah's complicated schedule to deal with. Isaiah was learning new things every day; it was interesting to watch the little wheels in his head beginning to make the connections to the world around him. He was learning what each of his toys did, and learning new sound to make at people to get their attention.

As Near sat in class, barely paying attention to what the teacher was instructing them on, he couldn't help wondering if any of this with Isaiah was going to be worth it, in the end. _Would_ the ends for Isaiah justify the means that Near and Mello were investing in?

What if Isaiah grew up wanting nothing to do with this organization, or taking over the L title? Would Mello and himself be able to support that? Would they even get to make that decision? Would it make all of their years of devotion completely worthless? All of this was assuming, of course, that they could even last that long together.

But then there was always that _other _looming question, as well. The one even Near tried not to plan for. What would the two of them do if something happened and one of them had to become L? Would one of them take the role? Would they both be forced into the role in order to continue teaching Isaiah? That wasn't an ideal situation for either himself and Mello as a developing team, or for Isaiah.

"Well… I guess we'll leave it there, for today." The teacher said with a smile, drawing Near out of his thoughts as she put her book down on the desk at the front of the room. "Don't forget to study for the test next week!" She called, as the students began gathering their stuff and exiting the room with fervor.

Near exited silently while trying to stay out of the crowds of people and allowing his thoughts to take him again. He mechanically made his way through the orphanage halls, towards the stairs to go up and get Isaiah from what should, in theory, be a nap. Though given the boy's terroristic nature, he doubted it'd go so smoothly. It rarely ever did.

"What're you thinking?" Came a familiar voice from beside him.

He looked over. Mello had his hands shoved deep in his pockets; there was a slight bend to his posture, Near noted for the first time interestingly. Those piercingly icy eyes refused to look at him, as if it would acknowledge to the other children around them that he was degrading himself down significantly by talking to Near. The younger successor was able to see past any opinions the children may have regarding them and this experiment, but it was obvious Mello's pride couldn't.

"Nothing in particular." Near finally answered, looking ahead of him.

"You know what I'm thinking?"

"Not at this moment, Mello, no."

Mello's jaw locked in annoyance, but attempted to keep his temper subdued. "Shut up." He spat out. "I was thinking about what you said a few weeks ago." He explained vaguely as they began up the stairs, effectively leaving many of the other orphans behind.

"I've said a lot of things, Mello."

"You know, the thing about 'Isaiah' just being an alias for whatever his real name used to be. He has a past that he'll never remember… I want to know more." Mello finally explained. "I was thinking we should do our own little investigation."

"We?" Near asked, giving him a confused glance. "You're implying _we_ work together on this, Mello? I'm sure Roger and L alike would be proud."

"Yeah 'we'. Shut up about it, or I'll change my mind and just do it without you." Mello sneered at him. "Look, I just think we should try to find out about Isaiah's case, and try to learn more about what happened." He finally explained.

"I hardly see how it matters, Mello, or how you even consider that an investigation of any sort. We could simply ask L to send us Isaiah's case file. I'm sure L has already solved the case and has extensive notes on it."

"Yeah, but what do you think the chances are he'd actually give it to us, even if he has solved it? He's not just going to let that information go. I'm sure it's considered confidential. Besides, the case itself is only _part_ of what I want to find." Mello continued to explain.

"You want to know all of the personal information."

"Isaiah had a life, and a family a month ago. Now all of that is gone. That doesn't bother you at all?"

"So you think it's your responsibility to be able to tell him anything about that past someday. Not just about what happened to his parents, but who they were as people, as well." Near concluded as they stopped outside Isaiah's door, turning to face each other.

"He deserves to be able to know_ something_. Kids figure things out, and they ask questions. He's going to want to know."

"But that's not your judgment to make, Mello. He's growing up in an orphanage. An orphanage with kids who don't ever talk about what happened to them. It's natural for children to want to conform to the people around them." Near told him, watching the blonde's reactions with interest. There seemed to be a personal investment backing this 'investigation' Mello spoke of, but Near couldn't quite place what exactly it was that drove him past just being able to tell Isaiah.

"Wouldn't you want to know, if you were in his place?"

"No, I wouldn't." Near answered honestly, leaving the atmosphere between them suddenly thick and tense -harboring the potential to release sparks of electricity between the two conductors. The younger finally exhaled, attempting to dissipate the tension. "Mello, it's not our place to go looking for answers that, for all we know, may not even be there. That's not our job."

"There are always answers, Near. _You_ of all people know that."

Near turned, finally opening the infant's door to enter the cool, dark room. "Yes, there are answers. Yes, Isaiah has a past, and he had a family, but that doesn't make it our judgment to make for him. If he wants to know, we can help him find the answers when that time comes." He explained, watching the blonde go over to the crib and pull out the five-month-old.

"Isa, you weren't even sleeping." Mello chided him, then looking to Near. "So you're not curious or at all interested in knowing where this little bundle of trouble comes from?"

Near's look hardened on him, reaching up to twirl a lock of hair. "I don't remember saying that."

"Good, then it's settled. The investigation starts immediately." Mello stated, moving closer to him, those sharp blue eyes staring straight into Near's soul -past all his walls that made up his cold and robotic exterior.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" He asked, unfazed by the blonde's proximity and burning stare; accepting that no matter what he said it would never change Mello's mind on this case.

"I know some people who might be able to help." The older successor said with a knowing smirk before letting his stare fall to Isaiah in his arms as he moved to exit the room.

Near followed behind him, "I'm not sure if Matt count as 'knowing some people', Mello." He couldn't help commenting.

"Well I _am_ sure it counts. You haven't seen the sort of things Matt's been able to do with technology, recently." Mello commented, a sense of pride hidden somewhere in his tone. Though, Near couldn't be certain if it was a pride for Matt's skills, or pride in himself for having connections to people who were of good practical use in such situations.

"I can only imagine…"

Mello opened the door to the bedroom he shared with Matt. The room itself was a wreck -wires and clothes scattered everywhere on the floor, making it hard to discern what color carpet there was. The beds were both a mess with blankets and clothes all mixed together, items were knocked over, there were bottles sitting empty on dressers and desks which Near didn't even want to try and figure out how long they'd been there.

Near could practically feel his nerves shoot through the roof from being in his old proclaimed rival's bedroom and instinctively reached up to twirl a lock of hair in an attempt to find any sort of relief. As odd as it sounded now, considering their situation, being in Mello and Matt's room made him feel uneasy and out of place; as if being here suddenly took away all his control.

"Matt!" Mello called to the gamer who was lounging on his bed with a portable game in his hands. "We have some business to attend to."

The gamer shot a glance at his best friend through the orange lenses of his goggle before sitting up and pulling them up onto his forehead. "What kind of business, Mels?" He asked hesitantly, looking between the two successors.

Mello went to his own bed, sitting on the side and putting Isaiah down on his back on the mattress, letting him wriggle around a bit as he contentedly babbled nonsense to himself. "I want you to find me whatever information you can on Isaiah and his case."

Matt gave him an incredulous look, "What?"

"You heard me. I want you to find out whatever you can about him. Where's he from? Who were his parents? What's his real name? What happened to his family exactly? Anything you can find." Mello explained easily, as if it didn't even register why the task seemed so precarious to both Matt and Near.

"And how would you like me to go about doing that, Mels?" Matt asked, "I wouldn't even know where to begin." He put his game to the side to give his blonde friend his total attention, though quickly shot a look over to Near, looking him up and down suspiciously, silently asking why he was even there.

The blonde smirked at him, "You'll need to hack into L's database and get the file on his case."

Matt's jaw fell open and he was rendered speechless; even Near, standing awkwardly between the two was taken aback by Mello's proposition. He had expected something of the sort considering there was no other way to really gain any information on the small child, but actually asking something like that from Matt was on a whole other level.

"You want me to do _what?_" Matt practically shouted at the blonde, earning a glare and a quick check to Isaiah to make sure he wasn't frightened by the loud noise. "I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood you, Mello. _How_ do you want me to get you this kind of info?"

"You heard me." Mello shot at him, attempting to leave no room for questioning, "I want you to hack into L's systems and get us the files on the case involving Isaiah."

"Why do you… Why should I even be helping you?" Matt stuttered out, still recovering from the shock from the magnitude of the request.

"Because if you don't, I'll tell Roger you have cameras set up in his office." He threatened, though his exterior wasn't fazed in the slightest to Matt's reaction.

"You told me to put them there!"

"Doesn't matter. That's just he-said-she-said at that point. The fact is that they're there, and you're the only one who would've been able to install them."

Matt took a heavy inhale through his nose, then exhaled through his mouth. "Why do you care, Mello? Why don't you just ask L what he knows and do it that way! Why do you always have to get us into trouble?"

"Disregarding the fact of just how impossible it is to get into contact with L, he wouldn't tell us anything, anyway. If he wanted us to know anything else about him, he would have told us when he left Isa here to begin with." He explained. "The fact is, everyone in this room knows where they came from except Isaiah, and that's not right."

"You're just interested in knowing his back story for your own gain." Near finally chimed in, looking out a side window as he spoke, still twirling the same lock of white hair; he could feel the glare he received from the blonde genius.

Matt sighed again, bringing all attention back onto him before Mello could fire off at Near, "Mello do you even understand what you're asking me to _attempt_? This isn't just anyone. This is _L._ Not only would his system be next to impossible to break through, but what do you think he'd do to me if I got caught!"

"Then don't get caught." Mello said simply, his eyes locking with Matt's.

Matt rolled his eyes, standing up. "Oh, 'don't get caught', he says…" He went over to the computer at one of the desks, sitting down and pulling his goggles down over his eyes again. "'Just hack the system,' he says, 'it's just _L,_' he says…" Matt muttered as Mello smirked.

"You'll be fine, Matt." The blonde told him. "No one's security has ever stopped you before."

"Did I mention before that this is _L_ we're talking about? This isn't just any security we're trying to get past. I think you seriously overestimate my abilities, Mels." He announced, looking back at his friend one more time. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

The blonde quickly looked from Matt, down to Isaiah, over to Near, then back to Matt, nodding. "Yeah… it's important to figure out what happened to him and his family." He reiterated seriously.

Matt visibly swallowed and nodded, turning back to his screen. "Alright, Mels, you are going to seriously owe me for this, regardless of if I can even get anywhere close to that information. I hope you know what you're getting me into, here…" He said with a sigh, beginning to type away at the computer. Everything went silent within the room except for Isaiah's cooing and Matt's typing on the keyboard.

After a moment, Matt stopped. "I need time, Mello. Lots of it. And space." His once carefree voice had transformed into one which was hard, focused, and fixed on his task at hand. As if his puzzle had, in that moment, swallowed his mind and soul into the virtual task. Near had never heard such a tone come from the redhead.

Mello stood up, bringing Isaiah with him. "Take your time, Matt. I trust you." He told him, grasping his shoulder tightly, then just as quickly as he had come, moving and exiting the room, pushing Near along and closing the door behind them.

"How long do you think it'll take him?" Near asked, his eyes trailing after the blonde.

"Hard to say. Maybe a few days, at the earliest. Maybe a week or two. It is L… so he'll have to be very cautious not to get caught or even noticed going in and out. Otherwise… who knows what might happen, what L might do." He explained. "Regardless," he added, "It'll get done. Even if he has to steal the files and run, Matt will get it done. I told you, he's good at these sorts of things."

"Right…" Near offered, still unsure. "I suppose we'll see what happens."

* * *

><p>AN: Again I apologize for any errors in this. There might not be that many, but it feels like it to me. Ah well. This is the last chapter I had pre-written so next chapter will be fresh written and edited. I guess we'll see if I can get it done quick enough, and if Matt will be able to turn up anything about Isaiah! Please let me know what you think! Any thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated, as always!

Please review  
><em>-Forbiddensoul562<em>


End file.
